Competitions

2026 LISTOWEL FOOD FAIR BEST EMERGING ARTISAN FOOD COMPETITION  -  Supported by Kerry Local Enterprise Office.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Listowel Food Fair’s Best Emerging Artisan Food Competition - supported by Kerry Local Enterprise Office.
This competition has been a long-standing focal point of Listowel Food Fair. 2026 is a special year for us as we celebrate our 31st Listowel Food Fair.

Food Producers will have their emerging food products assessed by an esteemed judging panel, with the opportunity to win one of several food awards, as well as receive invaluable feedback.
Historically many of our award winners have gone on to receive further national and regional food awards.

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION OUTLINED BELOW BEFORE APPLYING

Entry Requirements:

• Artisan food requires that the food is not mass-produced, but is hands-on in the making.
• The “best emerging” element requires that the food product must be 2 years or less in production

There are 7 Categories for entry this year:

1. Savoury products – e.g. pates, hummus, meats & seafood
2. Baked Goods – sweet & savoury
3. Confectionery – e.g. cookies, sweets, chocs, fudge, macarons, health bars, protein balls, etc.
4. Beverages – e.g. juices, smoothies, health drinks, alcoholic & non-alcoholic
5. Dairy – cultured milk, cream products, ice cream (*no cheeses - see note below)
6. Condiments – jams, chutneys, sauces, spice mixes and food ingredients
7. “Free From” – This category is strictly for food products which are specifically designed to be ‘free from ’, e.g. vegan or gluten-free products
   Note: *Do not enter cheeses in the dairy category as there is a separate cheese competition. Details of this can be found on www.listowelfoodfair.ie

CHOOSE ONE CATEGORY ONLY FOR EACH PRODUCT. DO NOT ENTER THE SAME PRODUCT IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES.

A MAXIMUM OF FIVE PRODUCTS CAN BE ENTERED IN ANY ONE PARTICULAR CATEGORY.

Judging Criteria:

Food Products will be assessed based on 4 criteria:

1. Taste (30%)
2. Texture (30%)
3. Appearance (30%)
4. Packaging (10%)
   Note: Presentation, packaging, and labelling are an important element of the entry. If packaging is still in development, all products must be adequately labelled.

Entry Date & Fee:

Entry forms are attached and must be returned by email to E: bestemergingartisan25@gmail.com by the revised closing date of WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH 2026 at the latest.
The entry fee is €35 (per producer). Payment information will be issued once confirmation of intent to enter is received.
Judging will take place on Wednesday October 21st 2026 at Listowel Arms Hotel.

Please pay particular attention to the requirements for sending your product.

• All products must be received at the hotel by Tuesday, October 20th at the latest. Ensure your products arrive by this date. NO LATE ENTRIES.
• Take a copy of your application form and include it inside the package when sending your product
• Attach the postage label included in this email to the outside of the box before sending your product and ensure that it is completed fully including relevant storage instructions.
• NOTE: POSTAGE IS NOT INCLUDED AND MUST BE PAID BY THE SENDER

Our judging panel for 2026 will be made up of food industry experts as well as representatives from Garvey's Supervalu Listowel and our competition sponsor Kerry LEO.
Winners will be notified if their product has been chosen as a winning product by Friday, Oct 23rd, 2026.

Prizes

The overall competition winner will receive a prize fund of €1000 plus have their winning product stocked by Garveys Supervalu Listowel for a period of 12 months. The 7 category winners are awarded €250 each. Winners will be invited to attend the Food Fair Dinner on Saturday, November 7th to receive their prizes and be part of the press photo call.

All entrants will be invited to attend a post-Food Fair mentoring webinar for food producers, details of which will be available at a later date. For further information, please email: bestemerginglistowelfoodfair@gmail.com